Royals Add Top Prospect Bobby Witt Jr. to Opening Day Roster

Days ahead of the start of the 2022 season, the Royals have revealed that their top prospect doesn’t need any more time in the minors.

Star infielder Bobby Witt Jr. will be on Kansas City’s Opening Day roster, the team announced on Tuesday. The decision means that the 21-year-old who’s widely viewed as the best prospect in baseball will make his MLB debut on Thursday.

Witt, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft, had a so-so debut in Rookie ball at age 19 before taking the minor leagues by storm in 2021. Across 124 games at Double- and Triple-A, Witt batted .290/.361/.567 with 33 home runs and 29 stolen bases, seeing most of his time at shortstop.

Witt is expected to get the lion’s share of his playing time at third base, as the Royals already had Adalberto Mondesi at shortstop and Nicky Lopez at second. Of his 140 minor league starts, Witt has made just 17 of them at third base.

Witt is the son of Bobby Witt Sr., who spent 16 seasons as a pitcher in the majors, primarily with the Rangers. The elder Witt debuted in 1986 and last appeared in a game on Nov. 3, 2001, for the Diamondbacks in Game 6 of the World Series, about 17 months after Witt Jr. was born.